Forever
by Jori-BeremyFan
Summary: Cory loves Lea, she is his everything. And Cory wants to marry her but for fear of losing her he holds off, and in doing this that's exactly what he does. How will Cory win her back and mend his broken heart, will he? Will Lea move on or realize that Cory is worth more than any proposal? Cory's POV
1. Chapter 1

I love her. "I love you…so much." Lea giggles "I know, you tell me everyday!" But I don't really think she knows, and even telling her everyday doesn't describe how much. I love her smile, her laugh, her confidence, her determination to be the best, how all of her talents overshadow anything you ever thought you were good at. And with all of her amazing inner qualities beauty is an added bonus, beauty, brains, and one hell if a body. God, I love Lea. Laying here with her now feels like a privilege. To hold her in my arms, she's so soft and always smells so good. "You smell so good, baby." I say, taking in her new fragrance that I know she got for me because it smells like vanilla, I love vanilla. "I got it for you." She looks up and smiles at me. I smile back and bring her small hand to my lips, kissing it gently. She turns around again and starts going on about random things and I could lay here and listen to her blather for the rest of the day, forever even. But then she says something that catches my attention, I only catch the end of it but it still makes my stomach churn "…marry, we really should Cory." I always try to avoid this conversation, but it seems like Lea loves having it. The truth is I'm not ready and she is. I'm not getting any younger and I've always wanted to but that isn't the reason I won't commit. It's Lea. I love her a lot, as I already said, and that's why I'm afraid of marrying her. She is way too good for me; I can't even believe she's my girlfriend. It's been over a year and I still have to pinch myself in the morning. Lea is the only person I can see myself loving for the rest of my life but for some reason a written document that states just that is way too big of a commitment for me. I really want to tell Lea this so that she can tell me how silly that is and that she loves me and all of the other things that she makes up to make me feel better about things like this but I can never word it right. "Cory?" "I uh, I'm…uh I don't know how…what. Hey are you hungry? I'm really hungry." I say as I get up from beneath her and slip out of the bed. She sighs "You're avoiding again." "Avoiding what?" I ask trying to seem confused even though I know she can see right through me "You're avoiding the question. And you're avoiding marrying me." She says sadly. I sit back down and take her hand into my own because that right there kills me "Hey, no I'm not. There is no way I'd ever avoid doing something like that with you, its just I don't really know how to say it but I'm not ready. I want to be with you forever, Lea. I love you, and if you loved me then you'd wait too." I kiss her hand and Lea sighs "Okay. And I do love you, like crazy. But just know I won't wait forever. Come on lets get some food." And with that she gets up and leaves the room expecting me to follow. But I don't, I can't my legs won't move. That's how Lea works, she says one thing and you can't get your brain to function correctly. I just really hope I didn't screw up too bad this time.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mm, you know there is nothing sexier than having a hot Canadian cooking you breakfast in the morning." I smile as Lea comes behind me and wraps her arms around my waist. "It's French toast." I say as I cut a piece and feed it to her. She moans in delight "And it's delicious. I should let you cook more often." She grins "You're adorable." I say as I kiss her nose gently. Lea giggles and goes to the cupboard to get a coffee mug. "I'm one step ahead of you, babe." I say pointing to the table where a steaming cup of coffee awaits her. She smiles widely "Well, you just thought of everything." She goes to the table and sits down. I turn back to the oven and start turning more French toast. "You know, as much as I love being catered and cooked for I can't shake the feeling that this is a guilt trip." I chuckle "What, a man can't prepare breakfast for his girlfriend without something being up?" Lea giggles "No, no it's just that you only cook for me when you feel bad." I turn off the oven "Look truth is, I feel terrible about yesterday. I know how much you want to get married and I just feel like yesterday I ruined any chances of that happening with us. And I don't want that, because I just really love you." I say facing her with a plate of 3 French toasts stacked high on top of each other topped with powdered sugar, strawberries and syrup. Lea sighs "Baby, come here." I walk over to her and pull a chair up in front of her. She pulls my chin closer to her face "I really want to get married, I do. But the only difference is that I only want to do it with you. I'm sorry about what I said; I can be kind of a bitch in the heat of the moment. I didn't mean it okay, I love you." She says sweetly and leans in to kiss me. I accept it happily. She pulls away and strokes my cheek "But you can't expect me not to want to get married if you keep cooking like this." She smiles seductively and my lips can't help but curl into a smile. I stroke her cheek longingly "I love you, Sarfati." She giggles and leans into my lips once again. I pull away roughly "Mm, you know this would be so much sexier if we ate this in bed." I smile and she bites her lip "You mean like if you cut it up and feed it to me?" I rub her bare thigh gently "Ah, I was thinking that you'd cut it up and feed it to me, you know like pretending its an airplane" Lea cracks up and I join in "But that sounds pretty amazing too." "Okay, well come on." She kisses my nose and grabs my hand, pulling me towards the steps. "Whoa, let me grab the food Lee" I say, laughing a bit. She giggles "I was just thinking about getting into bed but okay." I glare at her jokingly "Ah, what the hell, they have brunch for a reason right." And with that I pick her up and throw her across my shoulder. She laughs and laughs "Come on, this airplanes got a landing to make."


	3. Chapter 3

"Do you remember Landon?" "Your ex. The red head?" I ask uninterestedly as I play with her hair, the sheets of the bed cover our naked bodies sloppily. Lea chuckles "No, that's Theo." "Oh, you mean the New York ex. Yeah, what about him?" Lea shifts a little between my legs before resting her head back onto my bare chest again. "He's moving to L.A. tomorrow, he got a role on a new soap that just got picked up. I'm going to dinner with him on Thursday." My throat tightens a bit at the sound of this. First, that they're still making lame soaps and second that Lea's ex asked her to dinner and she said yes. "I…I don't know if I'm comfortable with that, Lee. He is your ex boyfriend." I say, jealousy coating my words. Lea scoffs "Oh come on Cor. Landon and I were like best friends way before we started dating. It really isn't a huge deal; I just want to catch up." _On old feelings?_ "On old feelings?" I ask "No, none like that. He's a friend that I haven't seen in years. I'm sure one night isn't going to rekindle our flame and make me fall in love with him again. I'm just going to go for an hour or two and then come right back here to you." She says sweetly kissing my hand. I sigh "Okay," I say because the last thing I want to do is smother her. I trust Lea and I know she loves me, plus from the way Lea has talked about him this Landon dude sounds like a way better guy than that doosh Theo was. "But I'd be much more comfortable if you went out to lunch instead, dinners are mine." I say smiling into her hair. She giggles "Okay." Lea looks up at me "I love you." I smile and kiss her lips "I love you." She says back and then rises up for another kiss. I hold her tightly in my arms, our lips still smashed together. And eventually this turns into deeper, wetter kisses and then Lea is underneath me, digging her nails into my skin, moaning my name because we can never just kiss without it turning into something more. I don't know if Lea is just like that with all of her lovers, if she just can't control her need for lust. And then I start thinking about Lea going out with that Landon kid and how she might not be able to control it with him either. Because we have love and chemistry but they have history, and I know for a fact what history can do to a person. And then I start thinking about what history can do to a person and my body starts to get hot and the room starts to spin. _No Cory, stop thinking like that. Lea loves you; she'd never cheat on you or even dream on it even with a guy that she once loved. Just trust her._ Then I look down at Lea, my precious Lea. My love. And I see how beautiful she is, how even out of breath she is perfection. And then she whispers with bated breath "I love you, Cory." Like she knows I'm unsure, that I'm afraid that I'll lose her. "And I promise to forever." She says, brushing my cheek lightly with her thumb. I smile, and push all of those bad thoughts out of my mind because she is mine and she will be forever, I'm sure of that now.


	4. Chapter 4

I sit on the sofa watching NHL highlights on Lea's t.v. in her bedroom. "Dammit, I can't find anything to wear!" she yells from the closet as she tosses a gray top into the "no" pile in the middle of the floor. "You know, for such a meaningless lunch date you're putting an awful lot of thought into this." I say accusingly. She walks out of the closet, buttoning up her shirt "Babe, when have you ever known me not to go out in anything but my best?" she asks. "Okay, how do I look?" She asks holding out her arms. I look up "I don't know, twirl for me." She spins around on my command and then stops to wait for my opinion "Eh, I'm not really feeling it, babe. I think you should wear that striped orange jacket." I suggest. She twists her face in confusion "Cory, you hate that jacket. You said it was the worst thing I've ever bought." "I know, that's why you should wear it." "So you want me to go out looking a mess?" "This one time, yes. I'm the only one that you should get all dolled up for." Lea chuckles and walks over to me "Well that's a bit selfish." She says as she sits down on my lap "Well, I've earned the right." She smiles "Oh you have?" she asks like she doesn't know "Yes, I'm your man. And your man doesn't like it when his girl puts on outfits like this for other men." I say, rubbing her thigh. Lea perks up "So I do look nice?" "Gorgeous." I reply "And do I get a yes from my man?" she asks jokingly "This is your man giving you the stamp of approval." Lea throws her head back "Well thank GOD." She says "I mean I can't leave the house without the stamp of approval." I chuckle "Nope, never." She rubs her nose up against mine and then goes to put on her shoes. Truth is my stomach hurts because she looks crazy sexy and it sucks that she didn't put that outfit on for me. But I shake it off because as soon as she gets back I'll be ripping it off anyways. "Alright, I've got to go." She leans down and pecks me on the lips. "Be good okay." She says as she walks out of the door "Bye." I say back.

I sit the exact same place I was in when Lea left. I unlock my phone and check the time, 2: 08 p.m. and Lea's been gone for an hour and a half now. I sigh and flick through my contacts to find her name in my phone because it doesn't take an hour and a half to eat lunch. Right when I was about to press call I hear a familiar beep, meaning that she just walked through the door. I smile brightly and quickly get up to go and meet her downstairs. As I make my way down the steps I can hear Lea laugh and I smirk, wondering what she could be laughing at. I stop dead in my tracks when I hear the sound of a mans laugh also. My smile fades as I stand on the stairs and listen. "…yeah that was crazy. Damn, Lee this place is phenomenal." The man says, I'm assuming its Landon "Yeah, its just a starter home but it sure as a hell cost a lot." They both laugh again "So where is this boyfriend of yours?" he asks "Oh I'm sure he's still here. Cory!" she calls to me. But I don't move or answer because I'm honestly too interested in their conversation and I don't want to meet this Landon guy. "He might've left, I don't know." I hear Lea place her keys on the kitchen counter "So how is it going with you two?" Landon asks "Good. Really good." I smile to myself. "How long have you guys been dating now?" _Dude you ask a lot of questions _"Well over a year." "Aw, you gonna get married anytime soon?" I roll my eyes. _Here we go. _Lea sighs "I don't know. I really want to, you know. I love Cory and I really want that for us but he seems to be afraid of something." I bite my lip, I never knew that she actually assumed that. "Oh so now your ready and he isn't, sounds like two people I know." Lea laughs "Shut up. You proposed to me when you were drunk!" _Proposed? Lea never told me Landon proposed to her. _"Hey I still meant every word. And I gave you a pretty kick ass ring." He says jokingly "It was a beautiful ring." And then there's silence and my chest starts to hurt. I force myself to go downstairs to walk in on what could be anything. Lea is fishing a bottle of water out of the fridge while Landon sits there and stares at her with googly eyes. I want to rip his head off of his body for staring at her the way he is. "Hey." I say forcefully. Both Lea and Landon jump at the sound of my voice and turn around. "Oh hey baby." Lea says innocently "This is, um Landon." Landon smiles at me "Hey man nice to meet you." "You too." I say smiling coldly and then walking over to Lea. I place my hands on her waist and kiss her with a little too much passion. She pulls away "Oh, um..." I smile at her. "Wow, okay." She turns to Landon. "Do you want some water or something?" Landon chuckles "Nah, I've gotta go. But it was really awesome catching up with you, Lee. We've gotta do this again sometime." He says as he stands up "It was really nice to meet you, Cory. Take care of her, she's something special." He says to me smiling and I just want to punch him in the face. Like I don't know Lea is special. "Bye." He says as he walks out of the door. Lea glares up at me and punches me in the arm. I chuckle "Ouch, what was that for?" "Why were you acting like that? And why did you kiss me like that in front of him?" I shrug my shoulders "I didn't know I wasn't allowed to kiss my girlfriend." "No, you were being a jerk. Trying to show off." "Well maybe if he wasn't staring at you like he'd seen an angel I wouldn't have had to." She rolls her eyes "Oh, you are so immature." "Just claiming what's mine." "I am not something that you can claim, Cory." She pulls away from me. I grab her arm and pull her back to me. I smile down at her and she rolls her eyes "Grow up." Then she gets up on her tip toes and places a kiss on my lips. She grabs her water and goes to sit down. I lean against the counter and stare at her seriously. "Why didn't you marry Landon?" I ask because it's killing me. She exhales "You were listening to our conversation." I shrug and she sighs "Because he did it for all the wrong reasons." "Wait, so he didn't do it because he loved you?" I asked puzzled "No, I'm sure that had something to do with it but mostly it was because I was leaving." I bite my lip "So, how…how did he do it? Or what did he say? And why were you leaving?" I ask nervously "This was around the time that I was moving to L.A. and he was the one that told me it was pointless to try and keep dating, that we should just let go and move on. But that night before I left, after we got back from dinner with friends we were a little drunk. And he started crying and telling me how much he loved me and needed me and then he got down on one knee and pulled out this gorgeous ring and asked me to marry him." "And you said no." She shook her head yes "That must've been hard huh? Leaving him behind, having to forget about everything you guys had." Lea takes a deep breath "One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do but that was five years ago. I've moved on and I think that it's safe to say that I'm in a really good position right now." She smiles and rubs my hand from across the counter. I smile back even though I'm far from happy. It is not only obvious that Landon is still head over heels for Lea but she just confirmed my suspicions that she isn't completely over him either.


	5. Chapter 5

_Lea lay underneath me; her hair is sticking to her sweaty face. Her breathing quickens as she is about to climax. She screams a name, not my name. "Landon," she pants "Landon, I love you." I see Landon smiling brightly down at her. He is inside of her, my girlfriend, my Lea. She is almost there; almost…_I jolt up out of my sleep, my body sweaty and my heart pounding against my chest. I look over and on the side of me lay Lea, sound asleep and clearly here for me, with me. But yet I still can't shake the feeling that her mind is somewhere else, that she makes love to me in daylight but in her dreams it is another man, Landon.It's been 4 months since Landon moved to Los Angeles. Four months of interrupted sex to answer his phone calls, unannounced visits, four months of hell. I will admit he has tried to reach out to me a bit but it seems like every time I turn my head he is gawking at Lea. I keep hoping that she'll tell me he's gay or that the soap didn't do well and that he's going back to New York, never happens though. "Alright," Lea smiles into the phone "Bye." She presses end and I roll my eyes. "Hey, where are you going?" She asks me, getting up off of the couch to meet me at the door. I turn to her "Home. I've been here for long enough. I kind of miss the guys you know." She shakes her head and strokes my arm gently "Okay, but I'm going to miss you." I shake my head "Yeah, me too." _But its cool, you've got Landon _"Be good okay. Don't let me hear any bad reports." I say jokingly. She giggles "Okay, dad." I lean down and a kiss her forehead gently before opening the door. She starts to walk away "Are you cheating on me?" I ask before she gets too far. Lea swivels around "Cheating? Are you crazy? Why would I cheat on you?" She asks "Lea, don't act like you're all innocent." I say accusingly "I'm not acting, I am innocent!" she says, raising her voice a bit "You and I both know that you've been a little too friendly with Landon." Lea scoffs "Landon?! Seriously, Cory? You think I've been cheating on you with Landon?" "Well you haven't given me many reasons not to." I say raising my voice now too. "What because I talk to him on the phone, because we hang out?" "Because he proposed to you and you…" "And I didn't say yes!" "But you wanted to!" I scream at her "And now he's back, and he is still that dreamy guy that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with! I'm just the guy that has no direction and your still with me, why Lea!?" She steps closer to me "Because I fucking love you, Cory! And you're too stupid and selfish to realize that! I was willing to love you through all of your faults, I was willing to try and understand why you didn't want to marry me, and I was willing to fucking be there for you, through it all! But this…" she starts to tear up and I know this isn't going to end well for us "you accusing me of doing something so horrible, it disgusts me! It disgusts me that you would even think of me that way, that you would even think I would ever hurt you like that! And it hurts me that you don't trust me, this is how you love me Cory?" I shake my head, tears filling my eyes too "No, I love you Lea, you know that." Lea scoffs "I thought I did, I really did. But a man that claims to love you unconditionally accepts your faults too, they try too, and they trust. We are nothing if you can't do that, if you can't trust me Cory then we are nothing." "So you trust me Lea!?" I scream, tears falling down both of our faces "With all of my heart. But…" "But what, huh? But it's over? Is it over, you ready to finally realize how much time you've been wasting with me, I am nothing Lea! Nothing!" She smiles and comes closer to me "You are something and that's your problem. You put yourself down too much, Cory. And you can't marry me or love me until you learn to love yourself, you have to do that. And I can't help you. Once you realize how amazing …" she is really crying now and so am I. She comes up to me and puts her hands on my cheeks "how absolutely wonderful and special you are then we can be together. And we will be able to trust one another and love without limitations and live happily ever after, forever. But I cannot give you that; I can only give you your freedom. And I hope you take it and try to make a better man out of yourself. And I'm gonna work on me, I'm gonna try and become a better woman for you. Because I love you and life isn't worth living if you aren't there beside me." She leans up to kiss gently and I take in her scent one last time, pulling her small body into mine. She pulls her face away from mine and wipes a tear away from my red face "I'll wait for you, okay. And when you're ready, I'll be here." "I'm ready now." She smiles and steps away from me before walking upstairs and leaving me alone in the hallway. And my world crashed before my eyes right then, I didn't want to be set free. All I wanted was Lea and I can only blame myself for losing her.


	6. Chapter 6

It's been 7 months since Lea left, or should I say since I chased her away. I'm still a little confused as to what went down that day. All I know is that I haven't been the same since. When you lose someone that you loved as much as I loved Lea its like pieces of you are shattered all over the floor, and I don't have the energy to pick them up again. For a couple of months she tried to call or text me to see how I was doing but I never replied because hearing her voice just made me fall into a deeper depression. I avoided every award show that I knew she'd be at, which was most of them. I tried so hard to just erase her from my memory but the more I tried the more she came to me. I see her in almost everything I do now; truth is I really don't want to forget her no matter how much it hurts to remember. God, I miss Lea. And now I lay in my bed sick as a dog and wishing that she was here to make me feel better again. She would always make me soup, tuck me in and lay there with me until I fell asleep. Childish I know, but it always made me feel better and safe, now I just feel like shit. I'm coughing my brains out when someone knocks on my door "Dude, leave me alone!" I yell assuming its Justin. The door opens and in steps Lea. My heart stops, I blink a couple of times assuming it's a dream. She steps closer to my bed and smiles "Sorry, maybe I should come back later." "No, no I thought you were Justin. He's been bugging the crap out of me all freaking day." Lea giggles and then scans my room a bit. Embarrassed I sit up and try to straighten my bed "Sorry, I haven't really been up to cleaning lately." "It's okay." She says. She picks up a bowl of what was supposed to be soup. "What is this?" she asks, laughing slightly "Oh, chicken soup. I tried to make it like you but as you can see it didn't work." She puts the bowl down and chuckles. "What's in the bag?" I ask, referring to the black The Limited bag in her hand. "Oh, it's your Canucks t-shirt, I came to bring it back to you." She says handing the bag to me. I shake my head "You keep it, I only liked it on you anyways." I say somewhat sadly. Lea shrugs "Okay, it is really comfy." She looks at me seriously "How are you feeling?" I stare down at the bed covers. _I'm fine _"I honestly feel like shit." I say plainly. Lea sighs "That really, really sucks." I look up at her "You know I've been a mess?" she shakes her head yes "I know, Justin's been keeping me posted since you decided to ignore me. I understand you were upset but you didn't have to push me away." She says "I couldn't talk to you, Lee. It hurt too much." I say looking back down at my comforter. And we both just sit there silent for what seems like forever "Lea, I'm ready." I say looking up at her; she is still looking at her pants, fiddling with something on her 4th finger. "I'm ready to be with you. I realize now that I am nothing without you, and I am willing to do anything to get you back. We can be together again." I say smiling at her. "Cory, that isn't what I wanted. I wanted you to let me go and focus on yourself. I wanted you to be happy." I take her hand into my own "But I can only be happy when you're with me, I need you." "This is the ring he gave me the night before I left for L.A." Lea says, a smile creeping onto her face. I look down and my smile fades. The thing on her 4th finger is a ring, a stunning ring at that. "He kept it all this time; even though we were miles apart he still kept the ring." And I just feel like crying because I never expected this, of all things, to happen. And I never expected it to hurt this bad. "You said you'd wait for me." I say, my voice cracking. "I never expected you to take 7 months, Cory." She says looking up at me "I would've done that for you, Lea." "I know and I'm sorry, but…" I cut her off "How did this happen, I didn't know you were even with him." "Well I pushed him away for about 3 months and he was so supportive and understanding about it. He helped me get through this Cory, he was there holding me when I needed someone to hold me. And finally, I let go." She says, tears fall down my face "Why?" "Because I thought you had." She says, her voice shaking now. "You ignored me; you wouldn't even look at me when we did happen to see each other, Cory. What was I supposed to do?" "You were supposed to understand that I was trying to cope with the pain, trying to recover from what you did to me. You broke my heart, Lea." "I'm sorry, I really am but while you had your methods of coping so did I and Landon was involved in all of them. He supported me with every decision I made." She looks at me, crying "He proposed to me last night and that's why I came to give you your shirt back. This was the last thing I had to let go of, possibly the hardest. And I'm really sorry…."I'm happy for you." I say plainly. Lea's eyes widen "What? Really?" I shake my head yes "Anyone that makes you happy is alright in my book, I'm happy Landon helped you get through this. And you're going to get married and be happy and I'm going to be there to support you." I say smiling. "Thank you, so much. This means so much to me." She says smiling and wiping her face. She leans down and kisses my feverish cheek gently before getting up "Um, I have to go. But I'll send you your invitation." I shake my head "Take care of yourself." She says gently "You too." I whisper back so quietly that I doubt she heard me and then she turns and walks out of my room. As I hear the front door close tears immediately fall down my face and I begin to sob uncontrollably. I know men don't cry or their not supposed to but no one ever tells you how it feels to have your heart broken. I literally feel like Lea came in here ripped my heart out of my chest and threw it on the ground. And I know I said I was happy for her but I am far from it. I am furious, enraged, guilty, jealous, and devastated. Losing Lea this way feels like I've lost my only means for living. I could've lived the rest of my life the way we were before she dropped the bomb on me because at least I would've known she still somewhat belonged to me. But now, she is gone, and she is never coming back. Now I have to figure out how to move on from this by myself. Lea had Landon, but I have nobody. Nobody.


	7. Chapter 7

"You're adorable." Lea says as she gives Landon an Eskimo kiss. My chest tightens as I remember how she used to rub her nose against mine that way. Lea must've noticed that I was a little uncomfortable because she scoots away from Landon and looks at me "You okay, Cor?" she asks. _No, I want to fucking die _"I'm fine, but I still don't get why you invited me over here." I say while shifting on Lea's sofa. Landon called me this afternoon and asked me to come over. Of course in the back of my mind I was like no fucking way, dude but if I want to keep this whole bull shit charade up about how happy I am for Lea then I have to cooperate. And now I've been sitting here for an hour listening to them gawk about the stupid wedding and their stupid future while I don't have one. "Oh yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something." Landon says to me. "Do mind, Lee? It's kind of private." Lea gets up "No, of course. I've got to go meet Steph anyways." She says while grabbing her bag and waving goodbye to us as she walks out of the door. Landon looks back at me and smiles "So, how are you?" "I've been better." I say, disinterest coating my throat. Landon sighs "I'm sorry, man. I'm in no way trying to rub this in your face or anything; I know exactly how you feel." "How would you know how I felt?" I ask harshly. Landon chuckles 'You keep forgetting that I was dating Lea before you. And you don't have it half as bad. I had to watch her prance around with you and that Theo guy." He says smiling at me but I don't smile back because I am in no way amused by him "Did you want something, Landon?" I ask him unkindly "Yeah, I know you and I didn't get off on a good foot and you probably want to fucking kill me now…" _got that right, bud_ "but you mean a lot to Lea and I'm sure that if she could she'd want you to be one of her brides men or whatever. So instead I was wondering if you'd like to be one of my groom's men. My brother's going to be my best man but I don't have many guy friends so the more the merrier." I loosen up a bit "Are you serious? Did Lea put you up to this?" I ask him disbelievingly "No…" he scoffs "Okay, yeah she did. But I would've asked you anyways. So?" "Wow, I mean thanks that was really cool of you. Sure." "Okay so if you are willing to do this then that means we're friends. I'm not asking you to forget how you felt about Lea because that's impossible, she's Lea. But I am asking for a truce. For you to stop seeing me as the ass that came from New York and swooped in and stole your girl but as a friend. Someone you can confide in and trust; lets just end this right here and now." He says holding his hand out to mine. I look at it for a second, weighing out my options. I could reject his offer to be friends and go on hating him which would solve nothing or I could get over myself and get over the fact that Lea is getting married to someone besides me. Landon was honestly a decent guy and he definitely made Lea happy as far as I could see. I bite my lip and grab his hand, shaking it firmly. "Deal." I say confidently, and it feels like a small load has been lifted off of my chest. This really feels like the first good choice I've made in months.


	8. Chapter 8

_Lea, I'm choking on your name, knowing that things will never be the same. Lea, why did you have to go, for what reasons you left me I will never know. Lea, you're leaving me tonight, but I promise you right now that I'll never say goodbye. _I sing while strumming a guitar, tears roll down my blotchy, red face. I have no idea why I'm writing a song about her, and a sad song at that. But I haven't sung since we broke up almost a year ago unless I was required to but never just for myself. When Lea and I were together I sang all of the time and one night while I was doing the dishes she came up behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist and whispered "Cor, you are so amazing. Your voice is so beautiful, it makes me so happy." And after she told me that I sang all of the time just because of the simple fact that it put a smile on her face. But if we weren't together anymore what was the point? Honestly, now it feels so good, I haven't realized how much I've missed singing. And it feels great to sing about her, to get her out of my system before her wedding tomorrow afternoon. I actually think I might be ready to let go and just genuinely be happy for her and Landon. They have been great friends to me considering the circumstances and they deserve each other. Someone knocks on my door and I wipe my face trying to cover up the fact that I've been crying all afternoon. "Come in." I say. My mother steps in "Alright sweetheart, I'm going now." She says. I get up to give her a hug. She stops me with her hand "Honey, have you been crying?" She asks concerned. _No way_ "Yeah." I say. She pouts and rubs my cheek gently "Aw, Cory. I'm sorry, you are being an amazing friend you do know that?" I shake my head yes "Things will get better I promise." "I know, I needed to get it out of my system tonight. It felt…good." I say honestly. My mom smiles "Good, I'm sorry that I couldn't stay any longer and be there for the wedding." I shake my head in understanding, "Okay." I bend down and take her into my arms, kissing her hair "Thanks for coming mom." "No problem. I love you take care of yourself." "I will, call me when you land." She smiles and nods then makes her way to my door "Love you. Thanks for cleaning up my room." She chuckles and waves to me before she disappears behind my door. I sigh and go to sit down when the doorbell rings. I go downstairs expecting it to be my mom and open the door to a wet, breathless, **beautiful **Lea. "Uh, hey Lee. Something wrong?" I ask confused as to why she was standing at my door a day before her wedding. She shakes her head no "Your mom going back to Canada?" I nod "Where are the guys?" "They're in San Francisco doing a show; I stayed behind to go to your wedding." She takes a deep breath and steps inside. I look behind her "Its really coming down out there, are you okay?" Lea shakes her head no "I've done everything. I've sent out invitations, got the dress the shoes, Landon is ready, but something is missing." "You forgot to get something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue." I say smiling but she doesn't laugh or even smirk. "This is my last night as an unmarried woman, you know." I nod "And there's one more thing that I have to do." She sighs and gets up on her tiptoes. Before I can decipher what is happening Lea's wet, cold lips are on mine. My whole body tingles as I remember what it was like to kiss Lea. The warm sensation starts to grow in my toes and I have to pull her off of me. I hold her by her shoulders "Lea, what the…what the hell are you doing?!" I ask shocked "You're getting married tomorrow." I say "I know, tomorrow." She says and tries to kiss me again. I stop her again "No, we can't do this okay." "I know, Cor. Okay I know. But I just need you one last time, I just need this." She says tracing the hard on that was starting to poke out through my jeans. I bite my lip, embarrassed at how much I wanted her and how obvious it was. Lea smiled and leaned up again, this time I didn't stop her. I knew how wrong this was, it felt wrong but once Lea slipped her tongue into my mouth I lost my train of thought. The only thought that processed was how amazing she was with her tongue. I wanted her so much; my body ached at her touch as she ran her wet fingers through my hair. She closed the door behind her, our mouths still pinned together. "Cory, I want you so badly." She said sensually. I felt like my pants were going to bust right then as I relaxed and allowed my hands to position themselves on her small, damp waist. I pulled away and looked at her "You're soaked." I whispered. Lea giggled "Let's get these clothes off then." I smile and fall back into her kisses. She fervently pulled off her shirt giving me full access to her beautiful chest. I reached up from where my hands were on her waist and squeezed gently, earning a soft moan from her. Smiling onto her lips I reached over and did the same to the other, this time brushing my thumb over her nipple. She unbuttoned her jeans quickly and I slipped my hands underneath the tight fabric of her silk panties. My fingers immediately became wet with her desire. "Lea…" I moan as I thumb her clit gently. I move my lips down to her neck and nibble at her soft skin. "I've been waiting all day to come here." She says on tenterhooks "I've been imagining your hand there forever now." She moans as I rub faster. I look up at her "Is my hand the only thing you've imagined there?" I ask seductively. Lea bites her lip "No,…" I smirk "What else?" I ask eagerly "Your…your mouth, your tongue. I've been aching all day" I lick my lips and immediately pull down her tight jeans and panties. "Well let's take care of that." I whisper in her ear. I kiss her neck again and move down to her stomach and stopped right above her bikini line. "How bad do you want it?" I ask teasingly as I kiss her skin roughly "So bad, please Cory." She moans "Tell me what to do." I say "I'm sure you know." She says smirking down at me "I don't, Lea. It's been so long since I've done this, I don't want to screw this up." I reply teasingly. She bites her lip "Okay, firstly take your mouth and kiss my clit gently." She orders. I obey "Like this?" "Just like that. Now lightly lick my…" but before she can finish I am already going away at her beautiful middle, enjoying her taste just as I remember it. She moans loudly, pulling at my hair "Like that. Just like that!" And I need no more direction. I remember just how Lea loved to be pleasured. What things drove her mad and what things sent her over the edge. Clit play was one of them. I recall nights when I'd solely focus on that part of her and within minutes she'd be putty in my hands. "Cory, I'm almost there. Please don't stop." She moaned, pulling at my shirt. I smiled and continued to work her bud, nibbling it and sucking on it as she dug her nails into my back. Finally, her knees began to shake and she threw her head back and let out a cry of fulfillment. She held tightly to me as I held her up and enjoyed the endless flow of juices coming out of her. When she was finished she pulled my up by the back of my shirt and brought me to her lips. She pulled away and smiled at me "I'll miss that." She says, stroking my cheek sadly. I pout "We're done here aren't we?" She giggles "No, I'd never let you give me that much pleasure and not return the favor. We've got a long night ahead of us." She says smiling and then turns and walks upstairs. I follow behind her, a brainless animal eager and ready for whatever she had planned. All I knew was that it had to be good, anything to stop this aching in my pants.


	9. Chapter 9

Lea pulls me into the room and closes the door behind her. She smiles at me and leans back up to my lips. I groan as she massages my lower stomach with her small hand. She giggles and gently pushes me onto the bed. I take off my shirt and allow her to kiss every inch of my upper body. She was so wonderful with her mouth, and just when I thought I couldn't possibly get any harder I felt myself grow inside my pants. "Oh.." I whimper. Without looking up Lea slowly reached back and ran her fingers back and forth against my cock. "Lea, please don't tease me." I moan. She smiles up at me "Well what would you like me to do?" "Just taste me, please." I beg as she starts to stroke me through my jeans "Cory, I don't remember you being so needy." She says smirking as she positions herself between my legs. She kisses and licks me through my pants, driving me nuts. I groan "Please…" Lea starts to unbutton my jeans and pulls down my boxers, allowing me to spring free. She smiles at my huge, stiff cock before taking it into her small hand. I moan loudly as she gently licks the tip of my head. "Ohh…" I groan. Lea giggles and slowly takes my entirety into her mouth, bobbing her head. I moan loudly over and over. She was so amazing, the only woman that I had been with that could make me cum from just looking at her. I tried so hard to hold myself but as she went faster and deeper I found it harder and harder. I quickly pulled her off of me and she looked up perplexed. "What?" she asked "I can't hold off anymore, if you kept going I would've gone over the edge and I have other plans for you." I say smirking at her seductively. She smiles and comes back to me, placing her lips back onto mine. I take my still stiff cock and rub it on her wetness, making both of us moan. I turn her around so that she is underneath me as I slowly enter her and then place my lips back onto hers. She moans and digs her nails into my back as I thrust harder inside her. Lea was always so vocal when we were together. Not vocal like porn stars are when they have sex but she was always so sweet. She'd constantly tell me she loved me and how much I meant to her but now she was silent. The only sound escaping her were her endless moans, I felt as though all of our feverish love making had vanished and now we were just having sex. The best thing about making love to Lea wasn't that she was amazing at it but that it was always passionate, but that was all gone now. All of the guilt that I had felt earlier when she first kissed me came rushing back like a flood and I felt like I could cry because it was really over. I guess she was having the same revelation because all at once her moans stopped and I swear I felt tears on my shoulder. She quickly got off of me "I, uh I have to go." She said her voice shaking "Are you going to be alright?" she asks. I nod "Will you?" I ask concerned "Yes, I just really have to leave. I'm sorry." And with that she rushes out of the room. I collapse back onto the bed trying to put the pieces of what just happened together. It was amazing, I will admit but if anyone asked me if I'd do it again I'd say never.


	10. Chapter 10

I sigh and knock on the dressing room door. "Who is it?" Lea asks "Cor…Cory." I say my voice tight and dry. I hear her scramble across the floor to the door. She opens it quickly and pulls me inside. "What's going on?" she asks while she closes the door behind her "Nothing, I just can't believe your still going through with this." She crosses her arms "Why wouldn't I Cory?" I step closer to her "Because we had sex last night, Lea." I whisper as if someone might be listening to us. Lea gulps "I know, okay. And it was wrong, we both know that. But I'm still marrying Landon. And you have to promise me you won't say anything about it, okay? Just forget it ever happened" _but I can't forget _"Okay" I say softly. Lea sighs and smiles "I have to get dressed now." I make my way towards the door "Cory," I turn back "Thank you." She says kindly. I nod and leave out of the room. When I close the door I see Landon walking down the hall towards Lea's dressing room. He looks up and speedily walks towards me. "Hey, is Lea getting dressed?" he asks out of breath. I nod. "Okay." "I gotta go see if the rings are ready." I say and turn on my heel to walk away "Hey." Landon calls to me. I swivel back around "Is there something that you want to tell me?" he asks a little too defensively. I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants "No, like what?" "Like maybe something about you and Lea, something you guys might've done?" _How does he know?_ "No, what're you talking about?" I ask coolly even though deep down inside I'm nervous as hell. "Man, don't play games with me." He steps closer to me "Did you sleep with my fiancée?" he asks in a whisper "I could ask you the same thing, Landon." I shoot back "Cut the shit okay, Lea left yesterday and I called everyone that I thought she might be with, they didn't know where she was." "Okay so that doesn't mean she was with me." "She came home last night smelling like men's cologne, the same cologne you have on right now. And I thought that you could be trusted, I really di…" "Look, man" I yell "calm down! Yes, Lea was at my place last night but we didn't do anything. So if you were planning on accusing her of cheating save your breath, okay. Don't go pulling the same shit I did a year ago because you'll only hurt her. Now I'm going to go check on the rings, are you good?" I ask "Yeah, man I'm sorry." "It's cool. Just let Lee get ready and go take a walk or something. See you in a bit." Landon nods and I walk away. Something deep inside me is telling me that it's not over. I just had a feeling that this day wasn't going to end well for anyone. All I knew was that I wasn't going to be the one to ruin it.

I stand next Landon as we wait for Lea to walk down the aisle. The music starts to play and everyone stands. The huge doors open in the beautiful chapel and in she walks. My heart stops as I set my eyes on her. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on. That's when I start to think about how she looks this way for Landon, not for me. Perfection wouldn't even be the word to describe her appearance as she walks down the aisle and it is all for him. Her soon to be husband and father of her children. I was supposed to be all of those things and more. I was supposed to be the one smiling like a kid in a candy store watching my beautiful bride walk down the isle instead of hiding it inside like I am now. Envy does not even depict what I feel when she walks past me and goes to Landon. He takes her hands and kisses them and mouths "you look _amazing_" _contain yourself. Don't let this get the best of you. _"Dearly beloved," the priest starts "we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in lawful matrimony…" I look out into the huge church and see so many familiar faces, so many celebrities and friends of Lea's. They're probably all thinking the same thing _Lea and Cory were dating for years and now she's her fiancées best man. Awkward. _"Does anyone have reason why this man and this woman should not be joined in lawful wedlock, let them speak now or forever hold their peace." I gulp hard. _I do, I do, I DO _"I do." _Dammit, you promised to contain yourself, Cory. _I look up at the audience as they begin to whisper and murmur, but none of them are looking at me. All of their eyes are pointed away from. I look towards Landon who has his head hung, his arms by his side. "What was that, young man?" the priest asks. Landon takes a deep breath and speaks up "I said I do. I have a reason." "Landon, what're you doing?" Lea murmurs. He turns towards the audience "I know this is all a little weird and I know a lot of you came to see us get married but that isn't happening today, or ever for that matter." There are gasps and I just want to stuff something in his mouth to make him shut up "I love Lea, probably more than I love myself. She was the first girl I really ever seriously cared for, and I lost her a while back as some of you may know. There aren't enough words in the English language to describe how happy I was when she said yes to my proposal the second time. I would kill to marry her, as many guys would. So you're probably wondering why I'm not doing that. Because Lea is amazing, phenomenal. So wonderful that I was pretty sure no man was ever good enough for her, that is until I met Cory." I hang my head "I've never seen Lea so happy, so vulnerable, so in love as she is with Cory. We all have our soul mates, that one person that we are destined to be with. I wasn't sure that Lea and I were meant for each other but with time and patience we could work it out. Little did I know that she had already found hers. I cannot marry her today or ever because you aren't supposed to commit to someone unless they can commit to you whole heartedly also, right?" Landon looks back at the priest and he nods "Well Lea I'm sure loves me but she loves him more, a lot more. So much that she was willing to let him go, to set him free." Landon turns to me and this is when I notice that he has tears in his eyes "Cory, I know you and Lea slept with each other last night and if it was anyone else then I'd probably try to kick your ass. But since I know its you, that it wasn't meaningless then it's okay. I am furious yes but its okay." I nod. Landon turns to Lea and takes her hand again "Lee, I'm sorry. I totally ruined your fairytale wedding but I couldn't keep you tied up like this." Lea sniffles, tears streaming down her face "I love you, so so much. More than you will ever know and that's why I'm setting you free." He leans in and pecks Lea's lips gently before sticking his hand back into his pockets and walking out of the chapel. The room is dead silent as everyone stares at Lea who is still crying. All I want to do is walk over to her and hold her close to me but my legs won't allow me to.


	11. Chapter 11

I ring the doorbell at Lea's and then shove my hands into my pockets. It was 2 a.m., freezing cold and I hadn't thought to bring a jacket. Yesterday was a bit confusing and after Lea was escorted by her parents and a group of relatives and friends crying I thought she might need a little time to get everything together. A day isn't much time, I know but I had a chance to decipher what happened yesterday also. And after a half a day of pacing I couldn't hold off any longer, I needed to talk to Lea. So there I was, in front of her door at 2 in the morning like an idiot. I didn't even know if she'd be awake but I just knew I had to try. After about 2 minutes I turned on my heel to go when she opened the door. "Cory?" she said, her voice was thick and I could tell she'd been crying. I turned back around to face her. She looked horrible. Her face was red and her eyes puffy, she wore her robe and her hair was pulled up. She was an absolute mess. I sighed and stepped inside and pulled her into my arms. She began to sob into my chest immediately. I petted her hair gently "Sh, sh I know. I'm here." I whisper, kissing her hair gently. And for about 15 minutes we just stood there in her corridor and I just held her as she sobbed. Finally, it stopped. She exhaled and stepped away from me, wiping her face with her hands. I rub her arm "Are you going to be okay?" I ask. She shakes her head no "Please don't leave me, Cory." "I won't, I promise." And then we go up to her bedroom and I make her tea and let her vent about everything that she'd been feeling before she fell asleep in my arms. As I was holding her I noticed that when she was talking she mentioned everything thing that happened yesterday except what Landon had said. Guess it was still a touchy subject.

I wake up to the smell of bacon and pancakes and my mouth waters as I get out of Lea's bed. I hadn't realized how much I missed this Place and waking up in the morning to Lea's cooking until now. I walk downstairs and find her at the oven flipping pancakes, the morning news broadcasting in the living room. "Good morning." I say. She turns to me and smiles "Good morning." I sit down at the counter and she pushes a coffee cup towards me "Thank you." I mumble before taking a sip. She gets a plate out and places two pancakes and some pieces of bacon on it and then hands it to me. "Thanks." I say smiling. "Did you sleep okay?" I nod while chewing on some bacon. "Thanks for um staying with me. It meant a lot." I swallow "Of course, I'll always be there for you." I say smiling. She smiles and turns back to the oven "How is Landon, have you heard from him?" Lea shakes her head no "I haven't tried to talk to him really, he really hurt me." "He was just trying to do what was best; he was setting you free, Lea." "I didn't want to be set free." She whispers. _Welcome to the club _"But you needed to be." I say as I get up to go and stand next to her "He loves you and that's why he did it." She turns to me "If he loved me he wouldn't have wanted to do it. How can you just decide to do that to someone you claim to love?" "Well, sometimes the best decisions are the hardest to make. You should know." She looks up at me puzzled "How would I know?" "Well because you did the same thing to me, remember?" Lea hangs her head "I believe your exact words were 'I can only give you your freedom'." "Yeah, but this is different." She mumbles "How, how is this any different?" I ask "Because I promised to wait for you." "But you didn't, you moved on." She looks up at me, pain fills her eyes. She opens her mouth to say something but then cuts herself off. _Say it, please Lea. Say that you didn't. _I stare at her, her perfect face, her perfect lips. And before I know it I am leaning into them, placing my hands on her small waist. She puts her hand on my chest and pushes me away. "No, Cory we can't." "Why not?" I ask frustrated "Because I'm not ready. I don't think its right." "Do you remember what Landon said at the wedding?" "Yes, of course. He said that he loved me and that he couldn't marry me." "Why did he say that?" "Because he said I needed to be set free." "But why, Lea? Why did he say that you couldn't be together? That you needed to be set free?" I ask her eagerly "Because, because…" she stutters "Lea just say it." "Because he said that we belonged together!" she yells out of breath "That you and I are soul mates and that I'm still in love with you." She whispers the last part "And are you." She sighs "I don't know, Cory. Okay, I don't know." "But I think you do." I say "I don't! I said I don't! And you're trying to force me into this and I'm not ready…" I let go of her waist and step back "Just stop." I say, a look of disgust covering my face "Stop what, Cory?" "Stop this. Stop acting so clueless." She opens her mouth to say something but I cut her off "No, let me talk. For the last year or so you've been acting like you don't know how to control your feelings. But Lea in the years that we've been together and in the years that I've known you, you have always been someone who knew exactly what she wanted, what she needed, and what was good for her. But for the past year I have watched you make these decisions that the old Lea would never make and I've stood behind them a hundred percent even though deep down inside I'm thinking 'this is bullshit'. You knew you didn't want to marry Landon and you know that you want to be with me. You need to be with me." She flares her nostrils "I don't need to be with you and I don't need you!" "Yes, you're right, you don't need anybody You've always been an independent woman who could take care of herself, but you still need me. Lea no matter how much you try to deny it you felt and still feel the same way about me that I do about you." She hangs her head "And how do you feel, about me?" she whispers. I come up to her and pull her chin up so that she is looking at me "I feel that you're my everything. You're like my oxygen, Lea. Being without you all this time was like walking around half dead. And you feel the same way. No matter how amazing and supportive Landon was and no matter how much you loved him he was never going to be the missing piece that fit inside of your heart. Only I can fill that void." I step closer and cup her small face into my large hand "When you're around me your heart beat starts to quicken and your brain gets all foggy. You have dreams about me daily and no matter how hard you try you can't get my scent out of your memory. This is what it's been like for me and its been the same for you. I love you, Lea and you're in love with me. All I want you to do is say it." Lea takes a deep breath "I…love you. I do." She whispers, her voice cracking. "You do?" she nods "Then if you do…." I get down on one knee and go into my pocket. _Thank God the box is still in here. _I pull out a small, black satin box and open it. Inside lies a ring, Lea's ring. It is in the shape of an infinity symbol and is coated with small diamonds. I take her hand "I got this yesterday, for you. I know I haven't had it for 5 years or anything like that, but it means something. It's my promise to you, to trust you, to love you, to be there for you forever, that's why it's in the shape of the infinity symbol. If you will have me, I would be honored to be your husband." I say smiling up at her. Lea's eyes are filled with tears as she nods. I take out the ring and place it on her fourth finger. She gets down to my level and takes my face into her hands, kissing me softly. _Finally. _


	12. Epilogue

"Are you ready?" Lea whispers while rubbing my back gently. I stand up straight, our bags in my hand and turn to her. "Never been more ready in my life." I say smiling. She grins and leans up to kiss me, her round belly creating a road block between our bodies. She pulls away and looks up at me "Are you ready?" I ask her while rubbing her stomach gently. She sighs "I've got to be honest, I'm a little nervous. You know I can't take pain." "I know, but I'm gonna be right next to you helping you through every step." I say reassuringly as I brush a strand of hair out of her face. She nods and puts her head onto my chest, laying her hands on my waist. I rest my head onto hers and kiss her hair gently "I'm sorry, babe. I really am. If I could, I would have the baby so that you wouldn't have to go through that pain. But, just think; in maybe 18 hours we're gonna have a beautiful baby girl. It will all be worth it." She exhales, her face still buried into my chest. I kiss her head again and pull her up by her shoulders. "We're gonna get through this, together. Okay?" "Okay." She whispers back to me. "Guys, we're leaving." Lea calls upstairs to our parents. Lea's mother had been staying with us majority of her pregnancy, my mom's been here for about a month, and Lea's dad flew in 4 days ago. Everything had been planned down to the last pacifier so that the only thing Lea and I had to worry about was meeting our daughter, and the pain of course. I hated seeing Lee like this though. I knew how much she hated pain; she made me go to almost all of her doctor's appointments in case there was a chance that she would have to get a shot. She practically cried when she got stung by a bee last summer so I knew she couldn't handle having a baby. It didn't help that she spent all last night looking up stories of child birth because all of them either said "It hurt like hell." "It was the worst pain I've ever felt." Or "I don't remember much, I blacked out for majority of it." This was definitely going to be a very long day.

Lea and I arrived at the hospital around 2:45 a.m., her obstetrician suggested that we get there early to prepare. By 6 a.m., they had broken Lea's water and the contractions had started. Thank goodness both of our mother's were there because 4 hours into it they became closer and Lea's painful groans became louder. I felt as though I could cry. Feeling a little lightheaded I sat down on the chair on the opposite side of the room. I felt a hand on my shoulder "The dizziness starting already? "Lea's dad asks. I nod and bury my head into my hands "Yeah, I'm going to be honest this is going to be hell for you. When Lea was a little girl she scraped something up almost everyday and every time it'd be like she busted her head open. Never could take pain." I groan and look up at him "Thanks for the reassurance Mark." I say sarcastically. He smiles "Look, Cory. I know this is gonna be really hard on you, seeing Lea like this. It will be hard on me too, but we have to be strong. She needs us right now, she needs you. Be her husband, show her that you can take control, make her feel safe." I look over at Lea who is taking deep breaths, getting ready for the next contraction to start as she squeezes both of our mother's hands. I look back at Mark "Okay, thanks. I will." And with that I take a deep breath get up and walk over to where Lea is laying. I kneel down next to the bed and rub her forehead gently with my thumb. "Hey, baby. How you feeling?" she whimpers and nuzzles her head into my neck. She lets go of their hands and wraps her arms around my neck as the next contraction begins. She groans loudly into my ear "Cory…" "It's okay. Sh…sh…I'm here." I whisper soothingly into her ear as I rub her back. Our doctor walks in "Alright, I think she's ready for delivery now. How far apart are her contractions?" "About a minute." Edith answers her while rubbing Lea's hand "Yep, she is definitely ready. Cory lets get you geared up and we'll meet in the operating room." I look at Lea, whose face has turned a bright pink "My dad too." she tells the doctor. She nods. Mark walks over to Lea and kisses her forehead gently "See you in there champ." She smiles and nods as the nurse starts to wheel her bed out of the room, my mother and her mother follow behind already dressed. Mark and I are given operating clothes and directed to a place where we can change. We are then escorted to the room where my daughter will be delivered. As we step inside I see Lea, already distraught, crying. I rush to her side and take her hand into my own, kissing it gently. She groans "Cory, I can't do this." "Yes you can! You can do it, Lea," I reassure her. She shakes her head no and I kneel down again, bringing my face close to hers. "Yes you can. I'm gonna help you get through this. We're in this together, okay." I bring my lips to hers and kiss her gently She pulls away and purse her lips together. She throws her head back and moans loudly. "Is she ready to start pushing yet?" I ask the doctor concerned. "No not yet. She's got a couple of shots to take first." Lea groans. "They'll help num the pain." Lea sighs a bit and allows them to get her ready for the shots. The first three are simple and didn't hurt her that much but the last, the epidural was the one that brought her to tears. She practically squeezed the life out of my hand as all of us stood around her cooing and soothing her with our reassuring voices. Finally it was time. My mother and Edith stood on each side of Lea's leg and Mark and I kneeled next to each side of her face "Okay, on the count of three Lea I want you to push as hard as you can." The doctor said as she positioned herself between my wife's legs. I took her hand into my own "Okay ready." I say "One…two…three" Lea grunts loudly, tears strolling down her face. "Good job. Good." The doctor encourages. "Make it stop please!" Lea cries as she is forced to push again. She looks at me "Cory, I can't do this, please make it stop! Please!" she begs. I take a deep breath. _Be a man, Cory. Lea needs you. _I take her face into my hands, wiping the tears that kept strolling down her cheeks. "Okay, I'm here. It's okay. Don't worry about what's going on down there. Forget about the pain." "I can't, Cory." She moans "Yes, you can. Just look at me, listen to me okay. Remember how long it took us to get here?" I ask her smiling. She nods "How long we've been dreaming of this? And you're going to let a little pain stop you?" I say making Lea giggle a bit in the pain. I kiss her hand as she is instructed to push again. She grunts and then turns back to me "You're going to be a great dad, baby." She says "I know." I whisper "No, I don't think you know. You're so amazing, Cory. So so wonderful. And I'm sorry for even considering marrying anyone but you. Because right now there is no one that I'd rather be here with. And…" her voice is cracking and an endless flow of tears run down her face" I know we've been through so much, I put you through so much heart ache but thank you for sticking by me. And for never letting me go, for always being there for me. I love you so much." I nod, tears falling down my face also, and bury my face into her arm. "I love you, too." I say my voice muffled by her sleeve and crying. "Okay, I see a head." The doctor says brightly. I quickly look at Lea and smile. She smiles back and kisses my lips before looking straight ahead "One more push, Lea." Lea inhales and pushes as hard as she can and that's when I hear it. The most beautiful, magnificent sound I've ever perceived. A little baby's cry. My baby's cry. "Oh my God." I manage to get out as fresh tears fill my eyes. Lea giggles also as they cut the umbilical chord and take her off somewhere to clean her up and weigh her. I look at Lea who is smiling brightly up at me "It's over." I chuckle "No, its just beginning, babe." I kiss her lips gently and we are interrupted by a nurse "Here is your baby girl. 4 lbs and 6 oz. Born on May 10 at 2:17 p.m." The nurse smiles at us and hands Lea our child who is still crying. When I first lay eyes on her its like heaven, she's like an angel. I rub her small fist with my pointer "She is amazing." I say. "She is." "She's so tiny and little." I say "She's beautiful." Lea adds as tears fill her eyes again. "She is beautiful. What's her name?" the nurse asks us "Gianna." I say smiling at the now quiet child "Gianna Alexa Monteith." Lea adds on. Gianna coos and looks up at Lea and I. Our baby, our precious, perfect child. "How, how could we make something so faultless?" I ask her in admiration. Lea looks up at me "I love you, and I love our baby. This little girl, this amazing child is ours, Cory." She says laughing. "She is." I say back "And this is just the beginning." She smiles at me and we share a meaningful kiss before going back to gawking at our baby girl, and I swear I could just stare at her forever.


End file.
